He checked the nightstand and found nothing. Then he got down on hands and knees to search the carpet. He flipped up the bedspread and looked under the bed. At first he didn’t see anything. But as he was about to stand up, his eye caught a flicker of light. He tried to locate its source, but it was gone. So, he slowly traced his movements.
He saw it again, and reached under for it.
It was a ring. Cynthia’s wedding ring.
As he studied the ring he had lovingly place on her finger just 24 hours ago, his hand began to tremble.
“What did you find?” Rebecca was standing in the doorway.
“It’s her wedding ring. It was under the bed.”
“Smart woman. She left it for you to find.”
“But wouldn’t he notice it was missing?”
“Probably not, since it’s just a band. The engagementring had the diamond, right? That’s what people notice.”
“Well, I’m surprised she was still wearing them,” he said.
“Yeah. You would think he would have made her take them off. Maybe he’s pretending to be married to her.”
Greg didn’t respond.
Rebecca knew what he was thinking. “But we’ll find them soon. Don’t worry.”
“How? All we know is that they were here. We don’t know where they went or when they’ll be back.”
“You and Sandy can drop me off at a coffee shop with free internet, and then come back here to watch this place. I need to keep checking his web page for more clues.”
**********
“Where are you taking me?”
“Oh, you’re gonna love it,” said Larry. “Ever done a threesome?”
Cynthia knew he would never give up on having sex with her. She was just hoping to stall him until Greg could rescue her. “That’s disgusting.”
“Yeah.” He laughed. “But in a goodway.”
He pulled off the highway and stopped at a convenience store, parking on the far right side. “I need some tobacco,” he said.
Now she understood why he had stopped smoking his nasty pipe.
“You want something to drink? A bag of chips?”
“No, thanks.”
He reached into the glove box and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
“I’d like to be able to trust you, Baby. But after that little trick you pulled at the apartment, I have to take precautions.”
He handcuffed her left wrist to the steering wheel, got out of the car, and walked into the store.
Another car pulled up on the left side of the Jaguar. The driver was an older woman—probably mid-seventies. She killed the engine and reached across the seat for her purse. When she glanced up, she noticed Cynthia sitting in the car beside hers, and smiled at her.
Cynthia instinctively returned the smile. Then she realized the woman might have seen the handcuffs.
The old woman got out of her car and walked around to the driver’s side of the Jaguar.
Cynthia slid across the seat and leaned against the steering wheel, trying to hide the cuffs.
“Are you okay, Honey?” said the woman through the closed window.
“Yes. I’m fine. Thank you.”
The woman pointed to the handcuffs Cynthia was trying to hide.
Cynthia smiled. The woman had already seen the them, so there was no use in lying about it. “It’s just a game my boyfriend and I like to play.”
The old woman looked at Cynthia’s engagement ring and then back at her face. Cynthia suddenly realized her mistake, and she was afraid the woman had caught it. She had just referred to her boyfriend—yet she was wearing an engagement ring. Why hadn’t she called him her fiancé?But just as she was about to correct it, the woman turned and hurried away.
Cynthia watched her walk toward the store entrance. Then Larry came out. When he saw the old woman walking his direction, he started to walk in the opposite direction of his car. What’s he doing? Cynthia wondered.
The old woman called to Larry. Cynthia couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could imagine. No—please don’t ask him for help. Don’t tell him about the handcuffs.
The woman led Larry back toward their cars. This is not good, thought Cynthia.
“See,” said the woman as she stood between the two cars pointing at Cynthia.
Cynthia saw Larry bend down and look at her over the old woman’s shoulder. There was a look in his eyes she had not seen before. An evil look.
He grabbed the woman by the shoulders and threw her down and backward into the side of her car, hitting her head on the door.
She collapsed to the ground.
Cynthia looked down at the woman. She was dazed, but still conscious.
Larry put his face up to the closed window. “See what you’ve done.”
“No! Leave her alone!”
“It’s yourfault.”
The woman looked up. She didn’t seem to realize that Larry had purposely harmed her. When she saw him squat down, she thought he would help her get up.
“You seem like a nice lady. But that woman in the car is notnice. She wants you dead.”
Cynthia had to stop him. In one quick motion, she opened the door and flung it at Larry.
She had caught him off guard. He fell sideways and hit his head on the old woman’s car.
He jumped to his feet.
Cynthia closed the door and locked it.
“Open this door!”
She didn’t move a muscle.
Larry reached into his pocket, pulled out the bomb remote, and flipped the lid open.
Cynthia unlocked the door.
He opened it and leaned inside. “I don’t think you realize who you’re dealing with.”
He punched her in the jaw.
She grabbed her face and began to cry.
He got out and closed the door. Then he went back to the old woman, who was still on the ground.
He took her head in his hands.
She looked up at him with thankful eyes.
“You’re an old woman. It’s not safe for you to be out alone at night.”
“I know. But I ran out of cigarettes.”
Larry slammed her head into the side of her car.
“Haven’t you heard? Cigarettes will kill you,” he said.
He smashed her head against the unforgiving metal over and over, until her gray hair began to turn red. Then he raised her head and dropped it on the pavement like a bag of ice. That usually breaks the cubes free, he thought. And sometimes it tears the bag open.
Larry smiled to himself. What if the woman had gone into the store and told the clerk and all the customers about the pretty lady who was handcuffed to the steering wheel? That might have been a serious problem for him. Or what if a customer had come out while he was killing the old woman?
But, as usual, Larry’s luck had saved him. His luck was better than a guardian angel.
Chapter23
“Why did you have to killher?”
Larry puffed on his pipe and smiled.
Cynthia wished she could jump out of the car. But if she didn’t die from hitting the road at 75 mph, she’d surely die when Larry came back to hunt her down.
She had figured Larry for a whacko when he stole her away from her honeymoon. But she hadn’t been sure how dangerous he was. Now she knew he was a cold-blooded killer. He really would push that red button and blow her hand off. She had thought that if she tried to run away, losing her hand would be her worst fate. Now thatseemed like the bestcase scenario.
“What about your luck, Larry? If you’re so lucky then why were you worried about her telling somebody I was handcuffed? Didn’t you trust your luck to keep you out of trouble?
“Oh, my luck worked just fine. I was able to kill her right there in the parking lot without any witnesses. There were four or five customers in the store. Any one of them could have walked out while I was cracking her head open. Yet nobody did. That’s some powerful luck.”
“Then why do you need me? Why d
on’t you just go buy yourself a lottery ticket and win a fortune. And then I’m sure any number of women would love to be with you.”
“It’s not that I needyou. It’s that I wantyou. And I always get what I want.”
He puffed on his pipe. “But I didbuy a lottery ticket for last night’s drawing.”
“Did you win?”
“Of course—$45 million.” He grinned broadly.
Cynthia was amazed. Why is all the good luck wasted on this creep?
“Unless somebody else picked the same numbers—which is possible, but unlikely.”
“So, you don’t know how much you won?”
“Not yet. I haven’t even checked the news.”
“Then how do you know you won?”
“Are you kidding? I’m Lucky Larry. I always win. I haven’t played in a long time because I didn’t need the money. But I knew I could win again whenever I needed to.”
Larry exited Highway 59 and pulled in at a seedy looking motel and parked in front of the office.
He handcuffed Cynthia to the steering wheel.
“Don’t let anybody see the cuffs—unless you want them to die.”
“What are we doing here?”
“I met a very interesting woman online. She’s meeting us here. She’s very hot—you’ll like her. And she’s gonna loveyour body.” He got out of the car and walked into the office.
Cynthia felt ill. What kind of a sleazy tramp would come to this roach motel to have sex with two strangers? She wondered how much Larry was paying her. And what horrible things would Cynthia be forced to do tonight just to stay alive? Would she ever be the same? And ifshe survived it, would Greg still want her?
**********
Chaucey opened the dusty package of fishnet thigh highs she had ordered online two years earlier. She couldn’t remember what had possessed her to buy them. Perhaps it was just to see how they made her feel.
She had always been beautiful. In high school she could have had any boy she wanted. But they were all so immature. Art school was not much better.
She had been working full-time for three years when she ran into a good-looking guy in a Blockbuster. Normally she would have walked right past him. But when she saw that he was renting Sense and Sensibility she introduced herself.
“Great movie,” she said.
“Yes, it is.”
“Got anybody to watch it with?”
“Uh…”
“My name is Chaucey.” She shook his hand.
“Hi. I’m Timothy.”
They went to his place to watch the movie. He was entranced by her beauty. She loved his quiet intellect.
Both families approved of their coupledom. Everybody thought the doctor and the graphic designer were made for each other.
Sexually, Chaucey gave Timothy everything he could have ever hoped for. But emotionally, she always held back a part of herself. He thought she would finally open up to him. But she never did. And it wasn’t that she didn’t wantto. She just couldn’t.
Her parents had been so disappointed when they learned of the breakup. She tried to save the relationship. She even posed for a sexy photo and mailed it to him with a plea to give it one more try. He had never responded.
After that, she had gone back into her shell. It was only a year ago that she had allowed a friend into her life. Crow had been a great buddy to hang out with. But now he wanted more. He wanted love.
Her feelings for him were strong, but they were not romantic. How could she ever love a man of his…low intelligence? She hated herself for even thinking those thoughts. But it was the one thing Crow lacked. And it was the thing she desired most.
Barry Undermine was an intellectual—a talented novelist. She imagined being held in his arms, melting in the warmth of his eloquent prose.
When she had walked out on Crow after his declaration of love, and returned to her apartment, she had found a message waiting from Mr. Undermine. He had located her website and sent her an email. She had been shocked and excited.
You are cordially invited to join me for an evening of poetry reading, wine, and lovemaking.
Location: Room 109 at Lovelong Motel in Sugar Land
Time: 9 PM
Sincerely, Barry Undermine
She had responded immediately. Yes, it would be her honor to join him.
She would dazzle him with her sexuality, just in case he was not sufficiently impressed with her mind. Chaucey had never dated a man who was smarter than her. This might be a first, she thought.
**********
Crow heard Chaucey come out of her apartment. He jumped up from the couch and ran to the door. Then he quietly opened it and peeked out just in time to see her walking into the elevator.
He wondered why she was dressed like that. He’d never seen her wear fishnet stockings, high heels, and a mini skirt. She did look very sexy. But she didn’t look like his Chaucey.
**********
“Where could they be?” said Greg.
“Who knows?” said Sandy.
“How long have we been sitting here?”
“You just asked me that. About twenty minutes.”
“I wonder if Rebecca found anything on his web page.”
“She’ll call as soon as she does. Come on, Buddy—it’s only 8:45. And it’s gonna be a long night if you don’t settle down a little bit. Try to think about something else for a while.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good.”
Greg had parked the Bonneville in a poorly-lit back corner of the lot where it wouldn’t be noticed.
“So, what’s the deal with you and Rebecca?” said Greg.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you two seem pretty close.”
“I wouldn’t say that. I mean, yeah, I like her. And I guess she likes me. But we’re like oil and water, Man. And you can’t mix oil and water.”
“Sure, you can.”
“Huh?”
“You take water…add oil…throw in some vinegar and spices and—“
“—you’re turning us into a salad dressing?”
“I saw you hugging her on the bed, Sandy.”
“…You did?”
“Yeah. And I didn’t see her pushing you away.”
“She was asleep.”
“Oh.”
“I mean—I thinkshe was.”
“What if you’re wrong? What if she was awake and she wantedyou to snuggle with her…
Sandy looked straight ahead.
“…and play with her breast?” said Greg.
“You sawthat?”
Greg laughed. “No. I couldn’t see anything. It was too dark in the room, you knucklehead. But knowing you, I just figured.”
“Okay, yeah, you caught me. That’s exactly what I was doing. I’m crazy about her.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you.”
“No—I don’t know if it’s great. I can’t tell how shefeels about me.”
“Well, I didn’t hear her yelling at you or slapping you.”
“Yeah. That surprised me. I still had my arm around her right before she got up.”
“See? She doeslike you.”
Sandy’s cell phone rang. He put it on speakerphone.
“You got something?”
“I found out where Chaucey lives,” said Rebecca.
“Where?”
“In Sugar Land. I think that might be where Larry went.”
“Why? Did he post another comment?” said Greg.
“No. But in his lastcomment it sure sounded like he wanted to meet her. And since he’s not at hisplace, maybe he went to hers.”
“Do you have her address?” said Sandy.
“Yeah. I looked up the domain name owner info for her website and got it that way. I think we should go down there right now. It’s about an hour drive.”
“But we might miss him,” said Greg. “What if he comes back here while we’re gone?”
“If he’s not down there we
can come right back,” said Sandy.
“Yeah, okay,” said Greg. “We’ll come pick you up, Rebecca.”
Chapter24
Larry opened the door to Room 110 and flipped the light switch. “Not too bad.”
Yeah, thought Cynthia, if you’re a roach.
Larry checked his watch. “It’s almost 9:00. Come over here.”
He led her to the king size bed and turned on the lamp.
“Lay down on the bed,” he said as he took the handcuffs out of his jacket pocket.
“Are those really necessary?”
“I’m afraid so, Honey. Until I think I can trust you.”
He had planned to cuff her to the bedrail, but saw a hole in the box springs and decided to hook onto a spring instead. He removed the Bible, telephone book, and complimentary notepad from the nightstand drawer and put them on the floor where she couldn’t reach them. Then he unplugged the phone and put it in a chair across the room.
He opened the door that led to the adjoining room—109, and said, “Just relax and keep quiet.” Then he turned off the overhead light and went outside. He unlocked the door to Room 109, went in.
Larry stuck his head in Cynthia’s room and said, “I hope you know it’s really youI want. But I have needs. I just hope this won’t make you toojealous.” He grinned.
He left both doors open just a crack to be sure his lovely redhead could hear him having sex in the next room. Soon, she’d want to join them.
There was a knock at Door 109.
Larry opened the door. “You must be Chaucey.”
“And you’re Barry?”
“Yes. Come on in.” Larry could already feel the blood gushing to his crotch. She was dressed like a hooker—the most beautiful hooker he’d ever seen.
“I just love your writing. You’re so talented.”
“Thank you. You’re pretty good at turning a phrase yourself.”
“I try. My mother is a literature professor, so I guess it comes sort of naturally. She even named me after Chaucer.”
“I wondered about that when you kept quoting Chaucer in your comments.”
“But how lame is that?For a mother to give her daughter a British man’s name?”
“Verylame, if you’re name was Chaucer. But Chauceyis a beautiful name.”
Illusion of Luck Page 12
